Swiss cakes are known for their spongy texture and their ability to play the peacemaker when disputes break out between German strudels and French pastries. Taste delicious neutrality with today's Groupon: for $10, you get $20 worth of baked goods and more at The Swiss Bakery, with locations in Springfield and Burke.

Specializing in artisan bread and European-style desserts, The Swiss Bakery sends taste buds straight to Zurich, where scrumptious cookies, sugary umlauts, and tasty tarts reign supreme. The Swiss Bakery's cookies ($16.95 per pound) change seasonally, with a wide array of tantalizing flavors and season-themed shapes such as bats and reindeer. Indulge in a scoop of premium ice cream or fresh sorbet ($1.95–$4.85 per scoop), with coffee toasted-almond and white-chocolate peppermint in the ice cream arsenal, and white-peach champagne and blood-orange pomegranate playing for sorbet's summer baseball team. Feed the Ricola alpenhorn players camped out in your basement with a European or American tart ($10–$12), including continental varieties such as raspberry-marmalade Linzer tart and the marzipan-packed gingerbread Biberfladen.

The Swiss Bakery prides itself on its earth-friendly practices, from energy-efficient LED lights, countertops made of Neapolitan Strand bamboo, and recycled wood from the former Swiss Embassy residence. Taste the sweet, delectable fare of Central Europe's super-cool uncle with today's Groupon to The Swiss Bakery.

Reviews

DC magazine, Northern Virginia magazine, and a Connection newspaper profiled The Swiss Bakery. Yelpers give the Springfield location an average of four stars:

• Sensible butter biscuits are gussied up with chopped nuts and a zesty cinnamon coating (nice combo). Greek shortbread bathes almond-laced dough in confectioners’ sugar (reminiscent of Mexican wedding cookies). Jewel-like Linzer cookies surround multicolored marmalades with hazelnut- and cinnamon-spiked dough (spicy-sweet synergy). – Warren Rojas, Northern Virginia
• It's a store, it's a bakery, it's a coffee shop, it's cake shop and it's gotta a little of everything but the 'everything' they have is spot on! – Holly P., Yelp